The present invention relates generally to the field of communications, and more particularly, to wireless communications.
A system of protocols normally controls the ways a mobile station and a base station may operate in a communication system. Such protocols are disclosed in a set of standards published by a recognized standard body. Different releases of the standards are made while improving the available communication features in each new release. In one aspect, for a mobile station to benefit from the improved features of a new release, the network and the mobile station need to be updated with software or hardware or both. The updated mobile station then may use the communication protocols outlined in the new release of the standard. The base station, recognizing capability of the mobile station, communicates with the mobile station in accordance with the new release of the standard. While a base station is yet to be updated to offer communication services in accordance with the protocols of the new standard, one or more mobile stations in the communication system may have been updated to receive communication services in accordance with the protocol of the new release of the standard. In such a case, the base station may ignore or deny communication services to the updated mobile station. Therefore, there is a need to provide communication services from a base station operating in accordance with an older release of the standard to an updated mobile station.
Various method and apparatus provides for matching revision levels used by a mobile station and a base station for establishing a communication link. The mobile station transmits a request for establishing the communication link with the base station, and transmits a first location update message including a classmark information for indicating a first revision level used by the mobile station for communication with the base station. The base station detects whether the first revision is incompatible with a second revision level used by the base station. The first revision level may be an updated revision level, and the second revision level may be an older revision level. The base station may ignore the request for establishing the communication link between the mobile station and the base station. The mobile station repeats, for a number of times, the transmission of the request for establishing the communication link between the mobile station and the base station. The mobile station detects failure of establishing the communication link with the first revision level based on repeating the request for the number of times. The request may be repeated four times. The mobile station changes the first revision level to the second revision level at the mobile station. The mobile station repeats, at least one more time, the transmission of the request for establishing the communication link between the mobile station and the base station and transmitting a second location update message including the classmark information for indicating the second revision level used by the mobile station for communication with the base station. The base station, as a result, detects compatible revision levels used by the base station and the mobile station, and releases a channel for establishing the communication link. As a result, the operating revisions at the mobile station and the base station are matched for further communications.